Publications

This case traces the development of the voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) campaign in Nyanza Province, Kenya as it transformed from the subject of a randomized clinical trial into national policy. After providing some background on the cultural, political, and scientific context surrounding male circumcision, the case traces the PEPFAR-funded implementers' advances in delivering male circumcision in Nyanza. It examines the various delivery models used in Nyanza and the evolution of the relationship between implementers as well as on the development of the national strategic plan for VMMC released in 2009. The case ends with the implementers having come together successfully for two rapid, aggressive, 30-day implementation campaigns and the head of Kenya's National AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections Control Programme wrestling with how to make such campaigns sustainable and what lessons from the campaign to pass on to the national program.

Learning Objectives: To understand how a randomized controlled trial may be translated into a large-scale public health program; how a surgical campaign was designed and implemented for rapid impact; the role of national and international collaboration in large-scale health delivery; and the ethical tradeoffs that arise in large-scale public health programs.

This case reviews the changes in national policy and the subsequent interventions used to reduce the incidence of malaria in Zambia from 2005 to 2010. After providing contextual information on Zambia-including historical, demographic, social, and health information-the case delves into the history of malaria control efforts worldwide and in Zambia. Though Zambia was at the forefront of malaria control-changing policy, adopting new treatment, and aggressively pursuing comprehensive malaria control efforts-in the early 2000s, by 2005 the Zambian government was still falling short of its targets. The National Malaria Control Center (NMCC) resolved to intensify its efforts by developing one national plan to improve coordination, data collection, and partner involvement, and ultimately, to scale up interventions rapidly in order to meet the national malaria targets. The new NMCC director, Dr. Elizabeth Chizema, guided the program toward success through several key interventions described in the case. With basic improvements in monitoring and evaluation, Chizema could demonstrate progress in malaria control. Nonetheless, she worried that partners might lose interest in helping Zambia given the decreasing burden even though the program still had many challenges to overcome.

Learning Objectives: To understand the development of a successful malaria control program over time and the components that led to its success, including the value of setting bold national goals, the merits of a health system with centralized governance and decentralized implementation, the importance of multiple coordinated interventions as opposed to a "silver bullet" approach for malaria control, and the use of data as an outcome measure, planning tool, and fundraising tool.